**9. Conclusion**

We have investigated historical gardens and their water motives in all their variety. We have taken a peek at small garden objects—those in the form of naturelike cavities—and others following contemporary architectural styles. We have found the similarities between bosquetts and green walls, and seen that the art of cutting trees and shrubs was an art of itself—which is well known by those who preserve historic (mostly Baroque) gardens [27]. We have outlined the diversity of parterres whose its ornamental lines are filled with plants that were changed according to their blooming periods—gardening that resembles today's pot cultivation (or container gardening). At the same time, we saw that the plants in the bordures of parterres were not monoculture, but contained many different species—parterres were closer to today's understanding of permaculture. We also briefly discussed roof gardens and green houses for more delicate plants. In these examples the enthusiasm for botany was presented—the enthusiasm that was not foreign to many rulers of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Kings and queens included new plants, their exploration, and the designing of gardens (where they liked to include different rare plants) in their schedules, devoting much of their time and finances to this love of botany. Not only did they build large botanical gardens, greenhouses, and collections (the most famous example is certainly the Kew gardens, royal botanical garden in England), but they also had small gardens just for themselves (sometimes on the roofs of their castles). They studied plants in their botanical cabinets, collected botanical books, and made notes, herbarium, and botanical journeys. This enthusiasm was the result of the development of interest in natural science, which has evolved into disciplines that today provide us with the knowledge of plants to the extent that we can integrate nature into our urban centers.

Furthermore, we have seen that, especially in the nineteenth century, urban residents understood the importance of green spaces in the city, to the extent that they themselves (at their own initiative and at their own expense) set up city parks. Even though the green surroundings of the city were still unspoiled at the time,

**153**

**Figure 15.**

*Vertical green building in Viertel Zwei (built 2017), Austria.*

*Historical Gardens as an Inspiration for the Future of Urban Horticultural Gardens*

from noisy and dirty machines and enclosed industrial halls).

and the cities were not as big and densely built as they are today, they knew how important it was for a person to have access to the natural environment every day. The emphasis on this importance is attributed to the industrial revolution, which, in addition to technological advancement, brought with it a well-defined working schedule. Leisure days were rare (initially only one day a week was free), and in those days people loved to spend their time in the soothing embrace of nature (far

So, let us look ahead and make sure that nature is preserved for the next generations, and that it retains in its original form and activity. By integrating different ecosystems in our cities, we can enable this. In this way, plants will contribute to the improvement of living conditions (reducing pollution, reducing the impact of global warming, offering space for relief and contemplation, etc.) as well as provide fundamental links for the nature, enabling it to be coherent, improving conditions for its reproduction and transmission of the information it needs for its existence. Furthermore, with a good insight into the past, we can make the greening of our cities easier. Street façades could all be dressed in green—not only as green walls but also as a structure for trees and shrubs and climbers to grow on. When visiting Viertel Zwei in Vienna, we can see a ten storey "vertical green" residential building, where an additional structure for plants was made in front of the actual façade, creating a tangible green space for the residents (e.g., **Figure 15**). Thus, when creating a new neighborhood in the city, we should devote special attention to its "green" part. Trees should be planted along the streets—all the art of shearing trees and shrubs in Renaissance and Baroque could be used on the narrow streets. Cascades and fountains should be part of city squares; they could cross the edges of pools or stairways and provide play space (or even generate electricity). Lakes and ponds could offer more peaceful areas in neighorhoods. In the spaces between larger apartment buildings, gardens could be arranged that would follow the schemes of Baroque gardens and offer beautiful views of the colourful design of parterres when looked at from higher floors of buildings.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90350*

## *Historical Gardens as an Inspiration for the Future of Urban Horticultural Gardens DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.90350*

and the cities were not as big and densely built as they are today, they knew how important it was for a person to have access to the natural environment every day. The emphasis on this importance is attributed to the industrial revolution, which, in addition to technological advancement, brought with it a well-defined working schedule. Leisure days were rare (initially only one day a week was free), and in those days people loved to spend their time in the soothing embrace of nature (far from noisy and dirty machines and enclosed industrial halls).

So, let us look ahead and make sure that nature is preserved for the next generations, and that it retains in its original form and activity. By integrating different ecosystems in our cities, we can enable this. In this way, plants will contribute to the improvement of living conditions (reducing pollution, reducing the impact of global warming, offering space for relief and contemplation, etc.) as well as provide fundamental links for the nature, enabling it to be coherent, improving conditions for its reproduction and transmission of the information it needs for its existence. Furthermore, with a good insight into the past, we can make the greening of our cities easier. Street façades could all be dressed in green—not only as green walls but also as a structure for trees and shrubs and climbers to grow on. When visiting Viertel Zwei in Vienna, we can see a ten storey "vertical green" residential building, where an additional structure for plants was made in front of the actual façade, creating a tangible green space for the residents (e.g., **Figure 15**). Thus, when creating a new neighborhood in the city, we should devote special attention to its "green" part. Trees should be planted along the streets—all the art of shearing trees and shrubs in Renaissance and Baroque could be used on the narrow streets. Cascades and fountains should be part of city squares; they could cross the edges of pools or stairways and provide play space (or even generate electricity). Lakes and ponds could offer more peaceful areas in neighorhoods. In the spaces between larger apartment buildings, gardens could be arranged that would follow the schemes of Baroque gardens and offer beautiful views of the colourful design of parterres when looked at from higher floors of buildings.

**Figure 15.** *Vertical green building in Viertel Zwei (built 2017), Austria.*

*Urban Horticulture - Necessity of the Future*

*Littman, For forest (2019), Klagenfurt, Austria.*

an art project but also a warning appeal and a warning echo started by artists such as Robert Smithson (his well-known Spiral Jetty created in 1970 is located outside the urban environment, on the North Salt Lake near Rozel Point in Utah), or Christo and Jean-Claude (they wrapped around 178 trees in Basel in 1998) or even Joseph Beuys (he introduced and subsequently implemented the project *7000 Eichen— Stadtverwaldung statt Stadtverwaltung*, at Documenta 7 in 1982; [25, 26]).

We have investigated historical gardens and their water motives in all their variety. We have taken a peek at small garden objects—those in the form of naturelike cavities—and others following contemporary architectural styles. We have found the similarities between bosquetts and green walls, and seen that the art of cutting trees and shrubs was an art of itself—which is well known by those who preserve historic (mostly Baroque) gardens [27]. We have outlined the diversity of parterres whose its ornamental lines are filled with plants that were changed according to their blooming periods—gardening that resembles today's pot cultivation (or container gardening). At the same time, we saw that the plants in the bordures of parterres were not monoculture, but contained many different species—parterres were closer to today's understanding of permaculture. We also briefly discussed roof gardens and green houses for more delicate plants. In these examples the enthusiasm for botany was presented—the enthusiasm that was not foreign to many rulers of the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Kings and queens included new plants, their exploration, and the designing of gardens (where they liked to include different rare plants) in their schedules, devoting much of their time and finances to this love of botany. Not only did they build large botanical gardens, greenhouses, and collections (the most famous example is certainly the Kew gardens, royal botanical garden in England), but they also had small gardens just for themselves (sometimes on the roofs of their castles). They studied plants in their botanical cabinets, collected botanical books, and made notes, herbarium, and botanical journeys. This enthusiasm was the result of the development of interest in natural science, which has evolved into disciplines that today provide us with the knowledge of plants to

the extent that we can integrate nature into our urban centers.

Furthermore, we have seen that, especially in the nineteenth century, urban residents understood the importance of green spaces in the city, to the extent that they themselves (at their own initiative and at their own expense) set up city parks. Even though the green surroundings of the city were still unspoiled at the time,

**152**

**9. Conclusion**

**Figure 14.**

In the centre of such garden, a garden architectural structure could be built, in which a grotta would be arranged in the lower part, and on top of it a room for socializing, listening to music, playing cards, or even a greenhouse. Aquaponics could be included in the grotta and greenhouse system. Green roofs and terraces could be used to grow exotic, heat-loving plants. With all this in mind, let us not forget about water instruments (organs) that could be part of such grottas or they could be used to liven up roadside green patches where rain water in roadside channels could be used.

Nature can be introduced into almost every element of a tightly built city. Following the example set by many art projects—be it wrapping trees in decomposable materials, placing tiny sculptures in a narrow street waiting for rain, planting oaks in the city, etc.—through joint collaboration we should make sure that authentic forests will not be only recreated in stadiums.
